Twenty (20) African female-founded tech startups have been selected for the fourth edition of The Future is Female Mentorship Program.
Launched in 2020, by the Africa tech-focused PR agency C. Moore Media International PR, which was acquired by global agency Allison+Partners, The Future is Female Mentorship Program is the first and only PR and communications program dedicated exclusively to African women in tech. The 2023 edition has been supported by Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Program, Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund, and F6S expanding the scale and reach of the initiative.
In this fourth edition, 490 applications were received from 37 countries across Africa, a 42% increase in applications from the 2022 edition. The mentorship program is complementary and supports the underserved market of African women and is one of the Continent’s fastest-growing communities of African female tech founders.
During the selection process led by judges; Salesforce’s investor, Enki Toto, Femi Agboola, Program Lead- Citi Productivity, Citi group, and Real Estate Investor Michelle Agbodohu, special consideration was given to startups focusing on health, education, finance, agriculture, and sustainability. Startups that provide solutions and/or address African women’s and girls’ needs also received special consideration. The 20 selected finalists for 2023 come from North, South, East, and West African regions and will become mentees of the Program, making up the class of 2023.
The 2023 African female tech founders selected from across Africa for the fourth edition of the Future is Female mentorship program are:
Egypt
Mai Shakweer: Founder of AutoMechanic, connects car owners in Cairo with local mechanic services and workshops.
Kenya
Celeste Tchetgen Vogel: Founder of e-Waka Mobility, a full-service platform for businesses to make cheaper, eco-friendly deliveries with tried and tested electric bikes.
Juliet Njoroge: Founder of Mosmos Africa, a Save Now Buy Later (SNBL) platform, enables Kenyans to save-to-buy conveniently with the Mosmos app.
Natasha Makindu: Founder of Paydel, a social commerce fulfillment platform that aggregates logistics services on demand.
Fridah Karani: Founder of Hela Money, a next-generation trade platform bridging traditional and digital finance enabling businesses to build for the future.
Jackie Kamau: Founder of The Laundry Lady, an on-demand laundry, dry cleaning service offering convenient pick-up, wash, and delivery, with a focus on high-quality service at affordable rates.
Elizabeth Nduta: Founder of Gwiji, empowers low-income Kenyan women with training and flexible employment.
Nigeria
Al Hassan Keita: Founder of EtioneraPay, an escrow payment gateway built for online and e-Commerce user, processing payment and enabling payment for users.
Jennifer Echenim: Founder of Bloccpay, a crypto-powered payroll solution for global businesses and talents.
Gold Sylvester: Founder of Traddify, a global remittance platform that allows individuals and businesses to make cross-border payments seamlessly and instantly.
Ngozi Nwabueze: Founder of PocketLawyers, a Nigerian legal tech startup that offers access to affordable premium legal services and solutions to SMEs and startups.
Sarah Odiavbara: Founder of Craftmerce, a B2B e-commerce marketplace for African handcrafted enterprises.
Olawunmi Akalusi: Founder of Rísé NG, a digital platform that seamlessly connects artisans and vendors with consumers.
Bibi Ikuemonisan: Founder of FarmCorps, an agritech platform providing smallholder farmers in Nigeria with end-to-end market access, loans, and more.
Joy Akparobore: Founder of VAMUZ, a Nigerian e-commerce and logistics platform aimed at the local market.
Kemi Ogunkoya: Founder of LeaderX, an innovative mobile application enabling African professional networks to bridge talent shortages, leadership gaps, and more.
South Africa
Jacqui Rogers: Founder of My Pregnancy Journey, an app that aims to guide and empower South African/African women with information and expertise on pregnancy, health, and parenting.
Tanzania
Sophia Abeid: Founder of Vide, a Tanzanian educational video-sharing technology for content creators.
Tunisia
Rym Bourguiba: Founder of WildyNess, an online platform that offers travelers authentic experiences in Tunisia creating social impact in rural regions
Zambia
Vwanganji Amatende-Bowa: Founder of Mightyfinance, an SME finance partner building thriving enterprises, that aim to transform lives through the provision of flexible, easy, and affordable loans.
Once the 20 finalists have completed the Future is Female Mentorship program; they will own insights into the fundamentals of PR and communications for early-stage tech startups; they will also learn how to create a communications plan, storytelling best practices, strategic business communications with multiple stakeholders, how to position their startups for investment opportunities and more.
The program is delivered virtually, and the mentees are invited to participate in masterclasses and sessions customized to the specific needs of their sector and business.
As part of the collaboration, Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund, which has invested in some of Africa’s top tech startups including Flutterwave and Andela, will be hosting a masterclass on VC funding for the selected mentees of the program. The partnerships enable the Program to provide additional perspectives, tools, and insights for the selected female founders and bring world-class and Pan-African PR insights from additional leading experts, complementing A+P’s global and African regional PR expertise.
As part of the partnership, selected TechCabal team members will lead a masterclass providing the 20 finalists with insights on working with tech media and understanding how to position their startups to gain the attention of the tech press. The partnership with AfricaCommsWeek will give the founders expanded Pan-African and multi-market PR expertise, a key component for many female founders whose startups cover multiple African countries.
Masterclasses and mentorship sessions
In August and September, the selected mentees will participate in masterclasses hosted by TechCabal, Salesforces, and Africa Communications Week, in collaboration with the program’s mentors at Allison+Partners; Claudine Moore, David Idagu, and Tope Adubi.
From October to December, the mentors will host customized one-on-one sessions with the mentees focusing on sharing insights into PR and communications fundamentals for early-stage tech startups, such as corporate storytelling and communications, media relations, digital marketing, and more.
